New unemployment applications in Florida decline for first time in weeks as layoffs ebb

After two-straight weeks of increases, new applications for unemployment assistance in Florida have declined, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday — a sign that the wave of layoffs sparked by the pandemic may be ebbing.

For the week ending Oct. 17, the state saw 35,960 new claims for assistance, compared with 47,904 claims in the week before.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification site has not posted any new layoff notices since Oct. 7, although there can sometimes be a delay in processing them.

So-called continuing claims, or applications for assistance from individuals applying for assistance for at least two consecutive weeks, also fell on the week, from 300,115 to 232,338. However, economists believe some decline in continuing claims is likely the result of workers running out of weeks to claim assistance. In Florida, state-run unemployment benefits last 12 weeks.

At this point, workers can begin claiming an additional 13 weeks of federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. Although Florida does not report the number of individuals claiming PEUC assistance, for the U.S., PEUC claims have been climbing in recent weeks. The most recent week reported, Oct. 3, saw an increase of 509,823 PEUC claims.

“The recent decline in continuing claims for regular state programs appears to be driven by individuals reaching their 26-week maximum benefit period, which varies by state, and rotating over to the federally funded Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program,” Nomura economist Lewis Alexander said in a note to clients cited by Yahoo Finance.

Florida reported an increase in federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in the most recent week, from 27,079 to 49,641. PUA assistance is for individuals, like gig workers and the self-employed, not eligible for regular state assistance. In Florida’s most recent monthly jobs report, self-employed workers and those not listing an industry comprised the largest share of newly unemployed.

For the U.S., new, seasonally adjusted unemployment claims fell from 842,000 to 787,000. Economists were expecting 870,000 new claims. Bloomberg reported that much of the national decline was driven by California, which had paused reporting to deal with a huge backlog of new claims.

Talks on an additional stimulus bill containing more assistance for the unemployed remain stalled. The White House has proposed a new, $400 weekly unemployment insurance benefit, as well as a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks, the Washington Post reported.